Politics

First Lady Michelle Obama cajoled Jay Leno into eating healthy foods for the first time in ... oh, ever during her visit to the Tonight Show on NBC Tuesday.

Promoting her “Let’s Move!” campaign to get kids excited about fitness and healthy diets, Michelle brought out some food to make an example out of Jay.

As both Jay and Michelle joked repeatedly about his eating habits, Leno sampled apples, sweet potato fries and a pizza made with eggplant, peppers and zucchini.

Could've used some sausage, but even Jay conceded it wasn't bad.

Michelle Obama Tonight Show Interview, Part II

Michelle Obama encouraged Jay to dip his apple in honey made from beehives in the White House garden: “It will help it go down easier,” she said.

“'White House honey'? That just sounds bad,” Leno replied, adding, “You know, with a different president that could mean a whole different thing.”

In California to promote her initiative and attend a pair of fundraising events, Michelle also talked about her daughters and her husband's reelection campaign.

She even praised Mitt Romney singing at a recent event. Classy woman.

Watch the first part of Michelle Obama's Tonight Show interview below:

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Mitt Romney looking stiff, forced and a little awkward? There's a stunner!

We kid. While we are endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, as the GOP presidential hopeful reminds us, most of us are not endowed with singing abilities.

In that respect: Mitt Romney ... He's just like us!

Mitt Romney Sings America the Beautiful

The Republican often delves into a monologue on the campaign trail about the greatness of America as seen through the lyrics of "America the Beautiful."

In Iowa, for instance, he said that the "amber waves of grain" were corn; in Florida, he tied the "spacious skies" to the state's role in space exploration.

Typically, Romney will talk-sing the lyrics, but he must have had a second cup of coffee this week, as he actually burst into song in The Villages, Fla.

The crowd of mostly senior citizens sang along. The press covering Romney, who won Florida's primary easily, wondered, "Was this really happening?"

It was, and on the Tonight Show last night, Michelle Obama described Romney’s singing as “beautiful” and said the song should be sung by everyone.

Classy lady. But can Mitt hold a candle to Barack singing Al Green?!

Obama Sings Al Green

Who's the better singer of these 2012 candidates?

HBO has released the full-length trailer for Game Change, the movie based on the book about the historic 2008 presidential campaign. The film debuts March 10.

The book Game Change chronicled the actions of both parties in the 2008 race, but the film focuses primarily on the Republican side ... specifically Sarah Palin.

Julianne Moore’s transformation into former Alaska Governor - who injected life into Sen. John McCain's struggling campaign, only to go rogue - is striking:

Game Change Movie Trailer

The 51-year-old four-time Oscar nominee stars opposite Ed Harris (McCain) and Woody Harrelson (adviser Steve Schmidt), who both look the part as well.

The trailer implies that Palin was chosen to run with McCain almost entirely for the media attention (hence the title), but that this backfired when she ran roughshod over the GOP campaign with her outsized ego and utter incompetence.

Moore said of preparing for the role: “In terms of research I did on the way campaigns are conducted, so much is about how do you get on the air, how do you get the most media attention. How do you make the most noise?"

"When in fact, what we’re all looking for as Americans is leadership, we don’t want noise. We want people who are going to take care of us.”

Way too intelligent to come from an actual political figure.

Mitt Romney rolled to victory in the Florida primary Tuesday, dispatching Newt Gingrich after his win in South Carolina and reclaiming a dominant position in the GOP race.

The triumph by Romney offered perhaps his first forceful response to the concerns that were raised about his candidacy only 10 days ago ... and throughout the last year.

While there remain plenty of doubters, a 14-point win with no asterisk in the biggest state so far (Romney won all 50 delegates) will resonate more than his past results.

That isn't saying too much, given that he's yet to win a majority in any state (although Florida's delegates were winner-take-all). Nevertheless, he beat Newt convincingly.

“A competitive primary does not divide us,” Romney told supporters. “It prepares us. And we will win. I stand ready to lead this party and to lead our nation.”

But if the Florida Republican primary results promised to reorder the field, none of Romney's challengers got the memo. Gingrich quickly pledged to fight on.

Gingrich spoke to a crowd in Orlando holding signs reading “46 States to Go,” saying he had a message for those wondering about the future of his 2012 bid.

“We are going to contest every place, and we will win,” said Gingrich, who did not congratulate Romney for his victory, nor did he call him on Tuesday night.

Rick Santorum, who finished third, and Ron Paul, who finished fourth, have also shown no indication that they're dropping out of the race anytime soon.

The next month is relatively light on primaries and caucuses, leading up to the Super Tuesday slate of elections March 6. Nevada and Maine vote Saturday.

The 2012 Florida GOP primary results:

1. Mitt Romney: 771,842 (46.4%)
2. Newt Gingrich: 531,294 (31.9%)  
3. Rick Santorum: 222,248 (13.4%)  
4. Ron Paul: 116,776 (7.0%)

The Susan G. Komen Foundation is cutting funds to Planned Parenthood, sparking outcry from abortion rights advocates and praise from an anti-abortion group.

The major breast cancer research group cut funds after the organization came under increasing scrutiny from Congress over how it provides abortion services.

The Komen Foundation gave few details on the reasons behind the decision, citing "changes in priorities and policies" and a need to "fully advance [its] mission."

"It is critical to underscore that the women we serve  remain our priority. We are working directly to ensure there is no interruption or gaps in services for women who need breast health screening and services,” the group said.

Nancy Brinker, Susan G. Komen's sister and the founder and CEO of the Komen Foundation, was a political appointee of the George W. Bush Administration, in which she served as U.S. Ambassador to Hungary and as Chief of Protocol.

Planned Parenthood, meanwhile, was clearly disappointed.

"We are alarmed and saddened that the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation appears to have succumbed to political pressure," that group said.

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As Florida Republican voters head to the polls, Newt Gingrich is already playing defense and lowering expectations while vowing to fight on against Mitt Romney.

Though he cited recent surveys showing him in the hunt in today's primary and said “I think we absolutely can win,” Gingrich seemed resigned to defeat.

He made reference to Romney’s well-financed barrage of attack ads that have blanketed the airwaves and said that Mitt is running “pathetic” campaign.

“You want to know where all the ads came from that you’ve been watching for the last few weeks? That’s your money recycled through Goldman Sachs to Mitt Romney to tell you a bunch of falsehoods, and I don’t use that word lightly,” he said.

“I don’t think you should run for president unless you tell the truth.”

Gingrich noted that the Wall Street Journal and National Review described Romney’s ads against him as false, and questioned the former governor’s character.

“What a pathetic situation to be running for President of the United States ... with nothing positive to say for yourself,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is to try to tear your opponents down so they get to be smaller than you are. That’s the Romney model.”

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Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy hit back at Fox News at a UK press conference following the London Premiere of their new film, in response to Fox's earlier criticism of the film "pushing a dangerous liberal agenda" at kids.

Making the publicity rounds following the London premiere of their new hit movie, Kermit and Miss Piggy defended their fellow fuzzy foam friends from attacks by the right-leaning cable channel. Check out the clip below:

The Muppets Bash Fox News

Eric Bolling, host of Follow the Money, alleged last year that The Muppets pushes a "dangerous liberal agenda," as the oil tycoon villain is named Tex Richman. "We are teaching our kids class warfare. Where are we, Communist China?" Bolling asked.

Seriously. Asked by reporters about the accusations, Kermit responded:

"Oh, it's SO dangerous. You know it's a funny thing. They were concerned about us having some prejudice against oil companies. That is categorically not true."

"And besides if we have such a big a problem with the oil companies, why would we have spent the entire film driving around a gas-guzzling Rolls-Royce?"

The lovable amphibian does make a point there.

Miss Piggy chimed in: "It's almost as laughable as accusing Fox News of being, uh ... news." Oh, snap. A cable news network, OWNED by sock puppets.

Watch the original Fox segment after the jump:

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Poor Newt Gingrich. Already under siege from Super PACs, media members and politicians in the tank for Mitt Romney, guy is about to lose his own theme song!

The candidate is being sued by a company which owns the rights to Survivor's 1982 hit "Eye of the Tiger," for using the inspirational Rocky III tune at campaign events.

Rude Music Inc., owned by a member of Survivor, filed the suit against Newt for jacking the song to push a political agenda ... that the band clearly isn't a fan of.

Newt, who has surged into contention for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, has been using the song at various political events from 2009-present.

And probably not for much longer.

Newt Gingrich Enters to Eye of the Tiger

RMI claims Gingrich, along with his campaign team, Newt 2012, Inc., recently  used the song during a campaign event in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, claiming:

"Mr. Gingrich entered the packed Moose Lodge for a speech as ["Eye of the Tiger"] 'pulsed' through the room, according to the the Newt 2012, Inc. website."

Gingrich isn't the first GOPer to be sued for using music - Jackson Browne sued John McCain for using "Running on Empty" in 2008 - and likely won't be the last.

On the plus side, Ron Paul can use any Kelly Clarkson song he wants.

Is the fix in for Mitt Romney? Sarah Palin seems to think so, going on an epic Facebook rant against Republicans trying to smack down Newt Gingrich ... but is she even more full of it than the establishment she rails against?

It's true that Republican officials and mainstream media figures do seem to be forcing the argument that Romney is the inevitable GOP nominee, despite the widespread antipathy toward the former Massachusetts governor nationwide.

Palin's arguments may be thinner than her melting Alaskan ice caps, however, and her motives are highly questionable aside from making sure Sarah Palin remains a topic of discussion. In that respect, guess we fell for it. Sorry.

In a post this weekend, she attacks the Republican "establishment cannibals" for using "Alinsky" tactics against Newt Gingrich in the run up to the Florida primary.

It's undeniable that Newt's win in South Carolina triggered a backlash against the former House Speaker by Romney supporters bent on blunting his latest surge.

But is the motivation really Gingrich's lack of qualifications? Or simply a desire to stop any sort of uprising from those looking for an alternative to the status quo?

Palin's main objection appears to be that those who question Gingrich's ties to Ronald Reagan have done so inappropriately and are doing the work of the left.

Never mind that Gingrich has tied himself to Reagan and his accomplishments with every other breath he takes. And who is the GOP "establishment," anyway?

How do you rant against people without specifying who you are talking about? And why not just endorse Newt if you feel so strongly about it? It's all puzzling.

Palin's full Facebook post appears after the jump:

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Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum's daughter Bella, who suffers from a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 18, was hospitalized over the weekend.

Santorum left the presidential campaign trail in Florida to be with his three-year-old daughter Bella, the youngest of the former U.S. Senator's seven children.

Bella was admitted to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Saturday but has since made a "miraculous turnaround," according to sources close to the candidate.

Rick Santorum’s 20-year-old daughter, Liz, appeared on his behalf in Sarasota, Fla., giving a brief speech to a crowd of about 250 at an airplane hangar.

"My dad wishes he could be here today," she said, according to The Palm Beach Post. "My dad today is exercising his most important role; being a dad."

Santorum also received some help from supporters Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar of TLC's 19 Kids and Counting, who spoke at campaign events on his behalf.

The Florida primary is tomorrow.

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